OF PUPPETS, BROKEN POTS, FLAWS AND THINGS IN BETWEEN

Our audience is mainly made up of children from the ages of 8 to perhaps 16. Interesting combination of both boys and girls. Yesterday we invited the puppets into the classroom and kids took off. it was perhaps one of the most entertaining segment i'd had all day. Eventually after learning that hand puppets don't actually talk to you and they don't in fact bite we had almost every one in a class of 70 decide they wanted to stand in front of the class, sing , recite poems and give us stories. I was not surprised that even the usually very shy ones had something to say while they simply opt to be silent.

Today however the crowd was a little more older and mature. We did the broken pot again. There is simply something about that story. The water bearer knew all along that one of the pots was broken and even went to the point of planting flower seeds along its path so that whenever they came back from the river, it would water the seeds. The final point hit the nail on the head...." Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots, but its the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. We've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. There's alot of good out there.

We asked the kids  to write a letter to their future children. i want to write out a bit of what they wrote...
1) My dear children, I am writing this letter when i am 13 years old. I am telling you that when i was in lower classes, i used to eat papers and throw them at the teacher. Please do not do this because the teacher used to be very sad

2) My dear lovely children, i want you to know that i am a lazy person in my home and in class. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be good. I am writing from your past to you and i wish you get this letter

3)I want to tell you my dear future children that i was busy watching television in my home and i was always the last in class. I want to tell you that you should be reading all the time in the class and outside so that you have good marks.

I wondered to myself, if they know so much about their flaws and would in fact advice their future children not to be like them, why don't they then change now? What is holding them back?
THEN ...i looked into their background. Maybe we have looked so much into what we don't have that we don't see what we can be.
INSPIRE NYERI KENYA

When story telling INSPIRES

Storytelling takes you on a journey that inspires you to learn about yourself and the world around you. It reflects social values in a culture that motivate people in their pursuit of a meaningful life. The oral tradition of storytelling makes it possible for a culture to pass knowledge, history, and experiences from one generation to the next. Since humanity first walked the earth, they have told stories as a way to shape our existence..maybe that is why i look forward to our story telling sessions every week.



There is a beauty in the keen faces of children as they follow your every move. React when you do and even sing along and repeat after you. The purpose.....cultivate the love for both reading and story telling. 
There is a little boy who really touched our hearts the other day. We had just finished telling the story of the little engine that could. Its an old story that helps to teach about not giving up and specifically that it is okay to ask for help. We had given the kids (all 70 of them) little engines to colour and some extra work for home work. Then i noticed this little boy looking all depressed and inquired as to why.
Then the little boy told me," teacher if you give me this work i will not do it because i don't have crayons. Can you kindly give me crayons because my mother cannot afford to buy them for me. Every money she has, she has to utilize it for our home use." You said it was okay to ask for help. I am asking for help."
Yes i gave him the box of 10 crayons. It was the best feeling ive had in a while, when what you teach is practical and has impact. When it INSPIRES.
That is what our stories do. They INSPIRE. We may no longer have fire side places where we sit round our elders and listen to ancient wisdom but we can revive an art that will help our children grow up morally correct.

"You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes thier blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift." - Erin Morgenstern

WHY WHAT WE SAY MATTERS

We take great pride in what we do. We teach children based on leadership habits. Yesterday we were teaching a rather important lesson. The question was very simple...what do you see when you look at your self? Towards this end we decided to open the topic with the illustration of the Japanese way of repairing broken pots where they use gold dust glue. The pot comes out looking amazing at the end of day.
Then we quickly moved to the story of the water bearer which i have posted here on a previous blog. it is basically a story about our imperfections. It talks about a pot which hated itself for having a crack. It was so focused on this crack that it failed to see the flowers on its side of the path that it had watered for two years.
We are not perfect. Most of the children we handle come from backgrounds that would make one blush in protest when they count their blessings. There are homes where anger and resentment are the order of the day. There are homes where a child is a bread winner before they are 10 years old. There are homes without parents only grandparents. There are homes where mothers and daughters are victimized constantly that they have to suppress who they really are. There are homes where poverty is so strong it comes with brothers. And yet, in spite of all this, this children will brave the morning cold in pursuit of an education.
However we have to step in and remind them that they have value. They can believe in their dreams. That we have imperfect people who have beaten all odds to come out on top. That there are flowers on your side of the path if you can only look. But we found that even for them its hard to recognize any good in themselves. And so our assignment for the week was set. 7 days of writing something nice. Seven days in which a child is required to affirm themselves. To dig deep and find that which is of value to them.

                                (a class of children with various learning disabilities using tablets)
of particular importance to me, is that as parents we really need to start telling our children that there is good in them, such that at a moments notice they can find the strength in who they are. Before they ever see the world for what it is, this precious little ones will learn it from somebody else's view point. What are we telling them?

THE CRACKED POT

I have a story. The story is about boys and girls who have learnt how to run the race without giving up. This are boys and girls forced by circumstances to be on their own and have ended up being in a children's home.

 But you have all heard the story countless times. Told by fire places, on roadsides, in churches in motivational seminars. But today my story is different. It is the story is one of a cracked pot. Cracked by the society, cracked by wrong choices, cracked by individuals. 

I would like you to stop by for a moment and read this. Let it inspire you to do something. To make a change. To make a positive impact one cracked pot at time. You may not seal the crack but .........

Once upon a time there was a water bearer in a small village who owned two large pots. Each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half-full.

 For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to the house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. However the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure it spoke to the water bearer one day by the

stream. “I am ashamed of myself because of this crack in my side which causes water to leak out all the way to your house”. The bearer looked at the pot and said, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?” This is because I have always known about your flaw, and planted flower seeds on your side, and every day while we walk back, you have watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace my house.

I hope you have taken a minute to read this. Now take a minute to think of yourself and after that think of all this children out there who need a person like you and me who can motivate them to be better people. I have gone out I have seen, after seeing I did.

 

 I have discovered each one including myself has his own unique flaw. I am a cracked pot and so are you. But it is this cracks and flaws that make our lives together so veryinteresting and rewarding. You just need to take each person for what they are, look beyond them to what they can become. Then use whatever you have to touch the life of that child/person and motivate them into doing the best they can.

 

 You have seen my face. i represent many. You have known my type.

I am a cracked pot. But i have not lost my hope nor given up my life because in the end the decision is mine to make my world a better place. 

Maybe you are out there, i dont know and you would like to know me, be my inspiration, be a part of the many reasons i  need to look forward to tomorrow.

RESCUING A CHILD- PART TWO ---LOOKING DEEP WITHIN MYSELF

This is a story that has to continue.....i learnt that her name was Margaret Gathoni. So she has a name like my daughter. That is lovely. I am wondering no longer why it rained and why i had to be there when she needed my help. Once again i am entertaining a stranger in my house. My husband is used to this by now. In fact its not just one but they are two. I dotnt know why i do it i just do.

Today i am going to be taking her to her home to meet her mother and father. it should be very interesting this one. At about 11am we board a matatu and head to Naromoro. I know you are wondering why i have taken interest ...maybe we will find that out. Everyone has a different perspective when it comes to the issues of life. We are headed to a place called Thome- apparently this lies in Laikipia but we have to go through Naromoru. We alight at the stage and are lucky enough to catch a vehicle that was just leaving. Did i mention i have my son with me (he is a blessing---yeah cant go alone ---you never know, and my neighbour's son as well).. We are in this car famously known as a box car where the driver makes sure we fit in almost 10 people. The kind of car when you alight everyone wonders if it had a hole where people were hidden.

Wow its really dry here but nothing will beat the feeling i got when i saw three girraffe and almost 10 real life rhino's. They are beautiful very beautiful. After a while we are here now. I can see our girl is excited to be setting foot on home soil. Maybe she is thinking like i am. We all need to know each other better. She is but a child even if she has attained the age of maturity according to the law. So young i cant imagine what would have happened to her had that old man had his way. On her face is the innocence of youth. She is practically skipping.

This is a real village with no real permanent houses. It is so dry i can hear myself walking and so windy i am glad i well fed. But the kids are having fun enjoying the new vegetation. My heart is in my stomach though as i am wondering what i have gotten myself into this time round. What is her family like? if my kids were in the same situation would someone be kind enough to take a step of faith and bring them home? We are here now.

I did not expect this but i got a genuine hug from the mother. She looks surprisingly young. Its a simple house that only a simple family could afford. I am grateful and thankful that i have what  i have. Not material things...no (although that is a plus) but my family. It is precious everyone of them including this young ones who pass by my hands. We are served and welcomed in the real african way with a big plate of food cooked out of an earthen pot. I am blessed.

Finally we get to reason why we are here. I have a hard task explaining why their only daughter would be found in such a place as she was. Arent we all decieved from time to time? whoever is not guilty should let us know. She is lucky that despite the bad intention from a fellow human being she may end up being helped. But i am sad they have no faith in her. From the fact that they opted to take the boy to highschool and took her to her grandmother. The girl child still secretly suffers in Kenya. She is left to be content with this.

The village here i have noticed has the younger population of girls between 15-19 with babies on their backs and alot of idle young men who have nothing better to do. It is sad really that no one thinks this girls should go beyond primary level education. Maybe someone should build a school and let this girls go back and make something of themselves. What will their young lives be 2 years from now? desparate, married or presumed so...with young to take care of and not much in terms of earning capacity because they dont know.

No i will fight for Gathoni. I cannot leave her here. I will fight to give her a better future away from this place. Maybe she may choose to make something of herself but i will give her a chance. After four hours i am able to convince the parents. They are a bit too happy to get her off their hands. I am thinking to myself , how do i get her back to school?

She has been an year out...... i call the assistant chief he is more than willing to help. He saw where we took her from...he too would like to participate by helping us get her a place in a local day high school. He does mention that this will take money. I promise myself i will try so the journey begins. I will start asking. WHO OUT THERE WOULD LIKE TO GIVE HER A CHANCE......by the time next year comes it is my prayer maybe we will have found her a sponser. I make a mental note to visit the District office but its been so long she has been out of school that i dont know if they will give her a busary.

I am talking to my girl now and telling her not to loose the faith. If one door was opened then the others will open. I have never seen eyes so full of hope. She does not mind working as a house help for now. She is getting helped as my mother is a teacher and she looks determined. Maybe just maybe there is a dream out there that has just been rekindled. What would you do if your were in my shoes?

RESCUING A CHILD

I have been planning for today since mid week because the place i was going to be visiting with a group of adventures person was totally beautiful but then ........ gosh .....the rain decided to do a number on us. After the dissapointment i decided to go to town to pay fees for one happy boy who will be taking swimming lessons this term thanks to his sponser

(see that very very very happy smile)

Despite the rain today i saw a miracle with my own two eyes. Life is such that you have to learn to see the opportunities that come your way. I was in the ghetto very busy with house hold listing. This is an important job as it prepares the ground for the volunteers that will later come to carry out the research. And then the mysterious happened. The village elder and the chairman for Nyumba kumi came in to report an old man with absolutely no manners....His crime?....He was keeping a young girl in his house and he is like 80 years. Apparently he had lied to her that she would be employed and given little money and she could share his house.. Why oh why would someone want to prey on the desparation of others? The guy was lucky enough not to be present otherwise the women had vowed to dismember his mischevious parts that he has been using on innocent girls as young as 7years.
The village assistant chief was called in and the rescuing mission was carried out. INSPIRE takes care of children ....why should i leave this one out. I took her with me and called her mom and established that she is over 18 and ready to have a job. We found her one and infact there is the promise of furthering her education. God help our community... therefore it was a good day today


She may never have completed her education or gone past standard eight but hey we wount let her get lost her because some idiotic grandfather sees fresh meat. Plans underway to help her get an education.....

Project Kagunduini

The most interesting part about project work is the prospect of exploring. Today i was headed towards one of those villages with unpronouncable names...yeah!!!! that is what i live for ADVENTURE....skip skip skip bounce bounce.

The first stop is the stage...am not being silly but a girl has to ask for directions. (I COULD HUG UWEZO KENYA). i know its an initiative that exposes ME AND YOU to everything. Today am finding out what a strange place with a strange name holds. Am in the matatu now and i pick to sit in the worst place ever. My knees are screaming for reprieve...LORD help me... the even pack an extra body next to me...now we are four...and the annoying driver still wants me to squeeze myself a little further...NKT what does he expect? for me to be a spaggetti am not having this...but am not ready to wait for any other matatu at this point so i keep my cool.
We are off now...have you ever noticed just how matatus at this hour tend to have women and old men or is it that this one is headed towards a village? and after a painful 20 minutes i am more than happy to alight.
So here i am ...this clueless girl...what to do. I decide to enter into the nearest shop that has that old man in it. I would rather avoid the group of rough looking young men sitting idly by the road side. He is so helpful as soon as i explain why am here he immidiately gives me the number of the assistant chief. Nice old man ...there are still good people left out there.
Then the waiting. I suppose i am waiting like anybody else for an old man...so i find myself sitting by the road side also a bit idly (not really...i am reading a book...Bad girls of the bible). After like ten minutes the old man (bless his heart) shows me two men approaching from a distance and informs me that one of them is the guy am looking for. Okay ...old men dont bounce so i wait to check out this one.
He is youngish like ...man okay and restless but very very helpful and entertaining. We are discussing all matters education (but he keeps eying me and making unnecessary suggestions...MEN!!!). But at the end of the day i know i will get helped. AMEN. He calls my village elder and we set a date for friday. Apart from this i have just learned that he is a big fan of TETU boys. So i get into a conversation of what we do. We come to a conclusion about four  things
1. we are going to be lending books to the school
2. we will go to the KENYA national library and welcome them to register the kids there to the national library and then borrow books on their behalf
3. we will consider them for book donations
4. i get invited to the village baraza for a talk on education

i am one happy human being ...today i have achieved something. I have known others and i have discovered a new place. and my work is getting done...yeah
back home i need to recruit the remaining volunteers...being a DC is starting to rub me the right way...